Notebook: Suspension of Saints RB Ingram upheld

The NFL has rejected New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram’s appeal of a four-game suspension due to violating the NFL’s banned substances policy, according to Josh Katzenstein of The New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The Saints had addressed the appeal earlier on Wednesday.

“At the end of the 2017 season, as a result of a NFL mandated random drug test, Mark Ingram tested positive for a substance that was not a performance enhancing substance, nor an illegal substance, but a substance in fact permissible with the proper use exemption with the NFL. He has vigorously challenged the test results through the arbitration process. The arbitrator’s opinion is due on or before Wednesday, May 16. Upon having the opportunity to review the arbitrator’s opinion, we will explore what further opinions are needed,” the Saints said in a statement.

According to the report, the appeal was short-lived as Ingram didn’t have the necessary exemption. Ingram’s suspension is without pay for the first four games of the 2018 season and was announced by the NFL on Tuesday.

–Free agent wide receiver Brandon Marshall is visiting the Seattle Seahawks, with ESPN reporting he was checking out the Seahawks’ facility in Renton, Wash., this week.

Marshall was released April 19 after one year with the New York Giants following a season in which he played only five games due to a left ankle injury requiring surgery. He finished with 18 catches for 154 yards and no touchdowns.

Marshall, 34, has played for five teams and made the Pro Bowl with four of them, but he has never played for a team that made the playoffs. He has 959 receptions, 12,215 receiving yards and 82 touchdowns in his career, ranking third among all active players.

–The Indianapolis Colts agreed to a deal with veteran offensive tackle Austin Howard, according to multiple reports. Howard, 31, is expected to compete for the starting right tackle position.

Howard started all 16 games for the Baltimore Ravens last season after signing a three-year, $15.025 million contract. But the club parted ways with him in March, making him a free agent. Overall, Howard has played in 92 games (88 starts) since entering the NFL in 2010 with the Philadelphia Eagles.

He also has played for the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders.

–Oakland Raiders offensive lineman Donald Penn will not face charges after being a suspect in an alleged domestic violence incident, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office confirmed to multiple media outlets.

An LAPD spokesperson said police responded to a report of domestic violence at a home in Encino at approximately 9 p.m. PT on April 29, according to multiple reports at the time. Police said Penn, 35, was not home when they arrived, and he was not arrested or charged with a crime.

According to TMZ, a police source said that at one point during the alleged incident, Penn slapped his wife’s butt. His wife, Dominique, then took exception and “a vocal argument ensued.”

–The Atlanta Falcons agreed to contract terms with second-round pick Isaiah Oliver and three other draft picks, the team announced.

Oliver, a cornerback from Colorado, was the 58th overall pick of the recent draft. He had three career interceptions for the Buffaloes.

The others agreeing to terms were running back Ito Smith (fourth round), receiver Russell Gage (sixth) and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun (sixth). Smith rushed for 4,538 career years and 42 touchdowns for Southern Mississippi, Gage was a stellar special teams ace who had 26 career catches for LSU and Oluokun had 13.5 career tackles for loss at Yale.

–Chicago Bears rookie linebacker Roquan Smith said most of the items stolen from his vehicle last weekend were recovered. Smith’s team-issued iPad, Georgia helmet and College Football Playoff jerseys were among several items stolen from his car in Athens, Ga.

Smith reported the theft, which he believes happened Friday evening or early Saturday, to Athens-Clarke County police on Saturday morning.

Per the police, there were no signs of forced entry to Smith’s BMW X5, which was parked in the garage of an apartment complex, and there are currently no suspects. Several fingerprints were taken from the car.